Chuck Close, an internationally known visual artist and University of Washington graduate, will soon be appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, according to the White House.

Close is a 1962 UW graduate and 1997 recipient of the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award, the highest honor the university bestows on a graduate, recognizing a lifetime of achievement.

As a visual artist, Close is noted for highly inventive renditions of the human face and is best known for his large-scale, photo-based portraits. He also is a printmaker and photographer whose work has been the subject of more than 200 solo exhibitions in more than 20 countries, including major retrospective exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and most recently at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2000, President Bill Clinton presented Close with the National Medal of Arts. Close is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The other six appointees include Jhumpa Lahiri, the Indian American writer, and Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television.

"I am proud that these distinguished individuals will serve in my administration," President Barack Obama said. "The arts and humanities enhance the vibrancy of our society, inspire us and strengthen our democracy."

###

For more information, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-2510